Empower Fall Ball 2017 Update

Fall practices – check! These past five weeks have been full of excitement, energy and motivated Empower players showing up every Sunday to get better. We started off the 2017-2018 season on a great note, with our most registrations for fall practices. Empower is growing and it has been so fun to watch as we’ve had many new faces join us this fall as well as many returners.

Our first Sunday together was spent getting to know our teammates, our coaches and setting the tone for the season. Each player that puts on that Empower jersey is a part of something much bigger than themselves. They are a part of a family, a unit, a group of best friends who will be there supporting them on and off the field. This is what we strive to reinforce in all our players in all that we do and it has been wonderful to see our players embrace this and all that Empower stands for.

Week 2 practice, we were tremendously lucky to have Amy Patton guest coach with us for the day. She worked closely with our goalies and then led the entire group in skill work and scrimmages. A term we will forever use now, thanks to Coach Patton, is the “turtle fake.” A skill that not only makes us smile, but improves our ability to fake out the goalie when shooting. Other drills, Amy led us through were the popcorn drill, working on popping out to receive a pass instead of standing still and running hard on a pass or ball coming from different angles. Skills that can be applied when working the ball around 8 meter or down the field in transition.

Building upon all we learned in week 2, our players had the opportunity to listen to Cindy Pierce talk about creating a culture of inclusion and openness, which will help encourage kids to engage, support, and speak up. Our goal at Empower is always to create a safe place for our players to be vulnerable and willing to put themselves out there. If our players can walk away from this fall season feeling as though they have a huge support system of teammates, friends and coaches who will always be there for them, then we have done our job.

We are now heading into our final chapter of the fall season, with our two tournaments coming up. We have the UNH tournament next weekend, October 22nd and then the Portsmouth tournament the following weekend, October 29th. Both tournaments will be a tremendous opportunity for our players to put forth all their hard work this season and really challenge themselves in a game setting. We are so excited to see our players come together and how much they have grown as a unit since the start of September.

At the end of practice this past Sunday, October 15th, I spoke to all the players and family members in attendance about how we, at Empower, want this club to be a full year round experience. Empower Lacrosse Club is a family, a community, and a team that our players are proud to be a part of. The only way our bond grows deeper and stronger is through more time together and sharing more experiences. With that being said, we have our Winter Ball coming up in January.

Winter Ball is for high school players and experienced middle school players. Practices will be held at the KUA indoor barn, starting January 21 through March 18th. They will be Sunday mornings, 9am-11am. We would love to have your daughter join us and continue to improve her skills throughout the winter season, so she can head into the spring season even stronger.